D.C. streets in dire state

Posted: Friday, November 26, 1999

WASHINGTON (AP) - Drivers in Washington are spending more time in auto repair, cyclists are bouncing off their bikes and winter threatens to be awful for commuters in the nation's capital - all because of a law passed by Congress.

As a result, telecommunications companies have been digging up the streets of Washington in the race to go high tech.

"It's a life-threatening situation," said Mark Gross, who manages Quick Messenger Service. "Just the other day, I witnessed a moped rider for one of our competitors go down really hard."

And drivers on four wheels have had problems as well.

"For the past year, it seems like my car is in the shop all the time," said Sheila Hankley as she maneuvered her Mercedes-Benz around trenches and patches on one downtown road to get to a garage. "I've needed my alignment adjusted, and my muffler fell off."

Other parts of the country have had similar experiences.

"Telecom companies intruded on our cities," complains Leonard Krumm, director of field services for the city of Minneapolis. "We weren't prepared at all."

In Washington, 12 firms are currently installing fiber-optic cable under numerous streets and permits are pending for many others, according to the city's Department of Public Works.

The telecommunications companies are digging trenches to install fiber-optic cable for high-speed Internet use and other services.

Businesses say this is essential, because fiber optics carry more data at a higher speed than existing copper technologies.

The rush to wire cities started after Congress passed the 1996 Telecommunications Act. It requires cities to allow companies to install fiber-optic cable, although cities can set regulations governing that work.

Some drivers say it's just not worth the trouble.

"It's great to say you have fiber optics in your 10th floor office, but you have to get to your 10th floor office first and that's not easy," said Gary LaPaitte, a consultant who recently relocated to the Washington area from Chicago.

Inconvenience is not the only problem, says Mantill Williams, a spokesman for the local chapter of the American Automobile Association. He notes drivers are constantly swerving to avoid hitting the trenches.

"You've got a pretty dangerous situation going on," he said.

Installing fiber-optic cable can take weeks or months, and officials acknowledge the freezing-thawing conditions of winter can turn the temporary road patches that accompany the work into potholes.

"If we have a harsh winter, certainly all this digging up will make our job more difficult," said Mayor Anthony Williams.

Williams has responded to complaints by requiring that work be finished within four months of the issuance of a permit.

But Washington is still more lenient on companies than many other cities. Williams says he wants it that way so companies consider doing business in a town not typically known for commerce.

LaPaitte had a different view.

"I don't know if you can say it's a business-friendly city when pedestrians and motorists can't get around," he said.

Telecommunications firms do not have to pay a fee when they cut into D.C. roads, unlike in Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco and many other cities.

"Every penny we spend to manage the right of way, we recover," said Krumm, of Minneapolis.

His city is one of several that require telecommunications companies to repave entire lanes or even entire roads after they cut into them, rather than just making patches.

Some D.C. residents say they would like Washington to take a tougher stance.

"Right now the streets are like an obstacle course," said interior designer Craig Hanson, who lives in northern Virginia. "It makes me think twice about coming into the city."